The present invention relates to a prosthetic brassiere garment and in particular to an improved prosthetic brassiere garment for use by a person having a mastectomy where one or both breasts have been removed or altered.
Many attempts have been made to enable the patient suffering from a mastectomy to overcome the mental and physical shock associated therewith by attempting to reconstruct her physical being by providing brassieres constructed to provide the appearance of having a pair of complete natural breasts. It has been suggested to provide brassieres which are capable of being stuffed with sanitary pads, absorbing cotton or rubber forms simulating one or both breasts. It has also been suggested to provide brassieres with built in pockets in which such filling material can be located. Plastic forms filled with liquid have also been recommended as have inflatable plastic balloons. Reference may be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,637,851; 3,447,538; 3,489,153; 4,363,144; and 4,185,332 for examples of such attempts. These references being illustrative further of the problems involved in providing mastectomy prosthetic brassieres of only limited success in solving such problems.
Current mastectomy prosthesis have been designed for an obsolete function, namely to provide pseudo-architecturally simulated breast structure. They are generally heavy, uncomfortable, and expensive, as well as cosmetically less than optimum. Another group of prosthesis currently available, make use of pre-molded or pre-shaped plastics and although not heavy or expensive, are similarly less than desirable for aesthetic purposes, since they are generally mass produced and shaped in conformity with standard figures, rather than being shaped to conform to that of the woman wearing the garment.
For all such classes of prosthesis, the ability to wear aesthetically pleasing outer garments is virtually impossible, and outer garments such as high fashion dress wear, lower cut necklines, or the like cannot be worn and have been unusable until the present invention.
In particular, all of the prosthesis known to date have a tendency to pull or fall away from the chest wall as the woman moves or shifts position, or as the woman bends or even leans slightly forward. Another problem of the prior art arises from the fact that the prosthesis normally extend over and visually beyond the normal bra line.
Still another problem existing with the current or prior known prosthesis is the fact that because of the expense incurred in constructing such bras, they are not readily adaptable to changing bra styles, and the woman having had a mastectomy has relatively little choice in the form of the brassiere she can wear. This is particularly irksome to women who before having had the mastectomy have been accumstomed to having virtual infinite choice in bra styles and shapes, so as to go along with both her mood as well as the type of outer garment being worn.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the problems heretofore mentioned and to provide a prosthesis which will be able to provide the woman with a large range of shapes and styles. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mastectomy prosthesis which fits both comfortably, accurately and will not shift in position or part or fall away from the chest wall.
The foregoing objects and advantages together with numerous others will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure.